KR20210054541A - Tempered glass articles with separating features - Google Patents

Abstract

A method of forming a tempered glass article is provided. The method includes providing a tempered glass article. The tempered glass article is in the form of a container comprising a side wall having an inner surface and an outer surface surrounding the inner volume. The sidewall has an outer reinforced surface layer comprising an outer surface, an inner reinforced surface layer comprising an inner surface, and an intermediate layer between the outer reinforced surface layer and the inner reinforced surface layer under tensile stress. The laser-induced intended separation line is formed in the center layer at a predetermined depth between the outer and inner strengthened surface layer by irradiating the sidewall through a laser without separating the glass article.

Description

Tempered glass articles with separating features

This application claims the priority of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/726578, filed September 4, 2018, under 35 U.S.C §120, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

This specification relates generally to glass articles and, in particular, to tempered glass articles having a separating feature.

Historically, glass has been used as a preferred material for packaging pharmaceuticals due to its hermeticity, optical clarity, and good chemical resistance to other materials. In particular, glasses used in pharmaceutical packaging must have adequate chemical durability so as not to affect the stability of the pharmaceutical formulations contained in the glass. Glasses with suitable chemical durability include glass compositions within ASTM standard'Type IA' and'Type IB' glass compositions with a proven history of chemical durability. Various glass containers are used in the pharmaceutical industry such as vials, cartridges, syringes, ampoules, bottles, jars, and other glass containers or glass articles.

Glass tubing can be converted into glass articles such as glass containers for the pharmaceutical sector, for example in "converting machines". Conversion machines have been in use for over 75 years and are now made by a variety of commercial and internal equipment suppliers. Such conversion machines typically employ multiple glass articles along the length of the glass tube, using steps including flame operation, rotating and stationary tool shaping, thermal separation, and/or score and shock cutoff steps. Reorganized as.

One of the major drawbacks of using glass containers for pharmaceutical packaging and other applications is the mechanical fragility of the glass. The destruction of such glass containers is expensive due to the loss of chemicals, but can also cause safety issues such as the presence of glass particles in the container, dispersion of the composition contained within the container, or other safety problems. One option to improve the mechanical performance of the glass is to strengthen the glass through a thermal or chemical tempering process. Such reinforced glass containers may have a high resistance to destruction, which can make crack and flaw detection difficult, especially during normal use, as the reinforced glass containers can generally maintain structural integrity.

Accordingly, there is a need for a tempered glass article having separation characteristics that can be used to make cracks in the glass more evident, and for a system and method for providing a tempered glass article having such separation characteristics.

In one or more aspects of the present disclosure, a method of forming a tempered glass article comprises: providing a tempered glass article, wherein the tempered glass article is in the shape of a container comprising an outer surface and a sidewall having an inner surface surrounding the inner volume. Wherein the sidewall has an outer reinforcing surface layer comprising an outer surface, an inner reinforcing surface layer comprising an inner surface, and a center layer between the outer reinforcing surface layer and the inner reinforcing surface layer under tensile stress; And forming a laser-induced intended separation line in the center layer at a predetermined depth between the outer tempered surface layer and the inner tempered surface layer by irradiating the sidewall with a laser without separating the glass article.

In another aspect, a tempered glass article in the form of a container comprises: a glass body having a top and a bottom and a sidewall extending between the top and the bottom, wherein the sidewall has an outer surface and an inner surface surrounding the inner volume, the sidewall Has an outer reinforcing surface layer comprising an outer surface, an inner reinforcing surface layer comprising an inner surface, and a center layer between the outer reinforcing surface layer and the inner reinforcing surface layer in a tensile stress term; And a laser-induced intended separation line in the center layer to a predetermined depth between the outer reinforced surface layer and the inner reinforced surface layer.

In another aspect, a method of forming a tempered glass article comprises: providing a tempered glass article, wherein the tempered glass article is in the form of a container comprising a side wall having an outer surface and an inner surface surrounding an inner volume, the side wall Having an outer reinforcing surface layer comprising an outer surface, an inner reinforcing surface layer comprising an inner surface, and a center layer between the outer reinforcing surface layer and the inner reinforcing surface layer under tensile stress; And separating the tempered glass article using a laser-induced intended separation line in the center layer to a predetermined depth between the outer tempered surface layer and the inner tempered surface layer by irradiating a crack that propagates axially along the sidewall and meets the intended separation line. Step, wherein the crack is then propagated along the intended separation line to separate the tempered glass article.

It will be understood that both the foregoing background and the following detailed description are intended to provide various implementations of the present disclosure, and to provide an overview or framework for understanding the nature and features of the claims. The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding, are incorporated herein, and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate various implementation examples of the present disclosure, and together with the detailed description serve to explain the principles and operation of the present disclosure.

1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a tempered glass article including an intended separation line, in accordance with one or more embodiments shown and described herein.
FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional plan view of a portion of the tempered glass article of FIG. 1, in accordance with one or more embodiments shown and described herein.
3 is a schematic diagram of an intended separation line in a helical shape, in accordance with one or more embodiments shown and described herein.
4 is a system and apparatus for forming an intended line of separation of a glass article, in accordance with one or more embodiments shown and described herein.
5 is a side view of a tempered glass article including an intended separation line, in accordance with one or more embodiments shown and described herein.
6 is a side view of the tempered glass article of FIG. 5 with cracks and separation lines propagating axially along an intended separation line.
7 is a schematic side view of another tempered glass article including an intended separation line, in accordance with one or more embodiments shown and described herein.
8 is a schematic side view of another tempered glass article including an intended separation line, in accordance with one or more embodiments shown and described herein.
9 is a schematic side view of another tempered glass article including an intended separation line, in accordance with one or more embodiments shown and described herein.
10 is a schematic side view of another tempered glass article including an intended separation line, in accordance with one or more embodiments shown and described herein.
11 is a schematic side view of another tempered glass article including an intended separation line, in accordance with one or more embodiments shown and described herein.
12 is a schematic side view of another tempered glass article including an intended separation line, in accordance with one or more embodiments shown and described herein.
13 is a schematic side view of another tempered glass article including an intended separation line, in accordance with one or more embodiments shown and described herein.
14 is a schematic side view of another tempered glass article including an intended separation line, in accordance with one or more embodiments shown and described herein.
15 is a schematic side view of another tempered glass article including an intended separation line, in accordance with one or more embodiments shown and described herein.
16 is a schematic perspective view of another tempered glass article including an intended separation line, in accordance with one or more embodiments shown and described herein.

Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments of tempered glass articles with separating features and systems and methods for producing tempered glass articles with separating features. Wherever possible, the same reference numerals will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or similar parts.

Directional terms as used herein-for example, up, down, right, left, front, back, top, bottom-are made only with reference to the coordinate axes provided with the drawings and do not imply an absolute direction.

Unless explicitly stated otherwise, any method described herein is not intended to be construed as requiring the steps to be performed in a specific order or requiring a specific orientation for any device. Thus, if the method claim does not actually refer to the order followed by that step, the device claim does not actually refer to the order or direction for the individual components, or if the claim or description does not specifically state as follows, the step is When limited to a specific order, or when a specific order or direction for components of the device is mentioned, the order or direction is not intended to be inferred at any point. It maintains possible non-expressive grounds for interpretation, including: logic problems related to the arrangement of steps, flow of operations, order of components, or orientation of components; The number or type of implementation examples described in the general semantic specification derived from grammatical constructs or punctuation marks.

As used herein, “singular form” includes plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example, reference to “a” configuration includes aspects having one, more than one such configuration, unless otherwise specified in the context.

As used herein, the term “separation feature” refers to a region of a glass article that is structurally weak, such as an intended separation line. These lines may be solid lines (ie, continuous) or may be formed as a series of aligned points or dashes, or a combination of them forming a line together. The dots or dashes of the intended dividing line may have regular or irregular spacing between adjacent dots or dashes. The line may be a straight line, a curved line, or a combination thereof in the range.

As used herein, the term “pattern” refers to one or more lines along a repeated arrangement, such as a spiral.

As used herein, “axial direction” refers to the height direction of the glass container provided in the figures.

Pharmaceutical containers can be made of glass because of their hermeticity, optical clarity, and good chemical resistance to other materials. Some glass articles and glass sheets, including, for example, aluminosilicate glass compositions, can be chemically strengthened by ion exchange. In the ion exchange strengthening process, the ions in the surface layer of the glass are replaced (or exchanged) with larger ions having the same valence or oxidation state. In some glass compositions that can be ion-exchanged, the ions and larger ions of the surface layer of the glass composition are monovalent alkali metal cations such as ^{Li +} , Na ⁺ , K ⁺ , Rb ⁺ , and Cs ^+. Can be Due to the presence of alkali metal ions in the glass matrix of the aluminosilicate glass composition, the aluminosilicate glass can be easily chemically tempered through an ion exchange process.

Glass tubes and glass articles made therethrough and having improved mechanical durability can also be produced by forming a laminated glass tube and converting the laminated glass tube into a glass article. A laminated glass tube may include multiple layers of glass, for example, as described in U.S. Patent No. 9,034,442, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. For example, in some embodiments, the laminated glass tube may include a core layer and at least one clad layer. The cladding layer may include at least an inner cladding layer adjacent to an inner portion of the core layer and an outer cladding layer adjacent to an outer portion of the core layer. In this embodiment, when the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) of the glass composition of the inner clad layer and the outer clad layer is different from the CTE of the glass composition used in the core layer, the difference in thermal expansion of each of the glass layers is the inner clad layer and the outer clad layer. It can cause compressive stress in the layer and tensile stress in the core layer. The creation of compressive stress in the cladding layer can increase the mechanical durability of the glass by increasing the resistance of the outer surface of the glass to surface damage.

Referring to FIG. 1, a glass article in the form of a glass container 10 that may be suitable for storing a pharmaceutical composition is shown in cross section. The glass container 10 generally includes a glass body 12 having a top 14, a bottom 16, and an intermediate 18 extending between the top 14 and the bottom 16. The glass body 12 may surround the inner volume 20 to define an inner volume 20. An opening 22 can be provided at the top 14 to provide access to the interior volume 20. In some implementations, the glass body 12 also includes a base 24 that closes the bottom 16 of the inner volume 20. The base 24 may be substantially flat as shown, or may be of some other suitable shape, such as circular.

The glass body 12 is a necked-down portion 28 connected to the enlarged portion 26 by an enlarged portion 26 and a shoulder 30 defining most of the inner volume 20 It includes a side wall 25 forming a. The neck-down portion 28 extends radially outward from the neck-down portion 28 from the shoulder 30 to a flange 32 protruding above the shoulder 30. The flange 32 may be used to close the opening 22 and engage a lid that may be used to deter unintentional access to the interior volume 20.

Although the glass container 10 is shown in FIG. 1 as having a specific shape (vial), the glass container is not limited thereto, but the glass container is not limited thereto, but is not limited to, but is not limited to, a vacuum blood collection device (Vacutainers®), cartridges, syringes, ampoules, bottles, flasks, vials (phial). It should be understood that it can have other shaped shapes including, tubes, beakers, etc. It should be understood that the glass containers described herein can be used for a variety of applications including, but not limited to, pharmaceutical packages, beverage containers, and the like.

2, the cross section of the glass container 10 is shown in more detail and the outer surface 34 and the inner surface 36 are parallel to the outer surface 34 defining a thickness t therebetween (e.g., It includes an inner surface 36 (concentrically). The sidewall 25 is a reinforced surface layer 38 and 40 which is compression strengthened at the outer surface 34 and the inner surface 36 and extends from the outer surface 34 and the inner surface 36 _{to depths d 1} and d _{2, respectively.} Provides. The reinforced surface layers 38 and 40 are under compressive stress, while the central layer 42 between the reinforced surface layers 38 and 40 is under tensile stress, or in a tensile state. The tensile stress of the center layer 42 is balanced with the compressive stress of the reinforced surface layers 38 and 40, thus maintaining an equilibrium within the sidewall 25. The reinforced surface layers 38 and 40 extending to depths d ₁ and d ₂ are generally referred to individually as “depth of layer”. The thickness t of sidewall 25 generally ranges from about 0.2 mm to about 2 mm, and in some embodiments, up to about 3 mm. In one embodiment, the thickness t ranges from about 0.5 to about 1.3 mm.

In the embodiments described herein, the depth of the layer of the reinforced surface layers 38 and 40 may be about 3 μm or more. In some embodiments, the depth of the layer can be about 25 μm or more or about 30 μm or more. For example, in some implementations, the depth of the layer can be from about 25 μm or greater to about 150 μm. In some other implementations, the depth of the layer may be greater than or equal to about 30 μm and less than or equal to 150 μm. In another embodiment, the depth of the layer may be greater than or equal to about 30 μm and less than or equal to about 80 μm. In some other implementations, the depth of the layer may be greater than or equal to 35 μm and less than or equal to about 50 μm.

The reinforced surface layers 38, 40 generally have a surface compressive stress (ie, compressive stress measured at the outer and inner surfaces 34, 36) of 150 MPa or more. In some embodiments, the surface compressive stress can be 200 MPa or higher, or 250 MPa or higher. In some embodiments, the surface compressive stress can be 300 MPa or higher, or 350 MPa or higher. For example, in some embodiments, the surface compressive stress can be greater than or equal to about 300 MPa and less than or equal to about 750 MPa. In some other implementations, the surface compressive stress can be greater than or equal to about 400 MPa and less than or equal to about 700 MPa. In yet another embodiment, the surface compressive stress can be greater than or equal to about 500 MPa and less than or equal to about 650 MPa. The stress of a tempered glass article can be measured through a Fundamental Stress Meter (FSM) instrument. These devices couple light into and out of a birefringent glass surface. The measured birefringence is related to the stress through the material constant, stress-optical or photoelastic coefficient (SOC or PEC). Two parameters are obtained: maximum surface compressive stress (CS) and exchange depth of layer (DOL). Alternatively, the stress and depth of the layer can be measured using a refractive near field stress measurement technique.

The introduction of one or more intended separation lines 50 within the center layer 42 and between the reinforced surface layers 38, 40 means that when the sidewalls 25 are in tension, the cracks axially cause the glass body 12 It has been found that it is possible to propagate along and face the intended separation line 50 to cause the glass body 12 to separate along the intended separation line 50. For the glass thickness (t), by providing a central tension (CT) in the center layer 42 above a predetermined limit (e.g., at least 25 MPa for a thickness of 0.6 mm-1 mm) as a result of the reinforcing process. It may be desirable to facilitate complete separation of the glass body 12 along the intended separation line 50 without application. In some implementations, the predetermined limit of the CT of the central layer 42 is at least about 13 MPa, such as at least about 15 MPa, such as at least about 18 MPa, such as at least about 20 MPa, such as at least about 23 MPa, such as at least about 30. MPa, such as at least about 35 MPa. Details of the formation of the intended separation line are described below.

FIG. 1 illustrates a first representative pattern 52 formed by an intended separating line 50 formed between the reinforced surface layers 38 and 40 (FIG. 2 ). In this example, the pattern 52 formed by the intended separating line 50 is provided as an enlarged portion 26 of the glass body 12, between the shoulder 30 and the base 24. The pattern 52 may be in the form of a three-dimensional spiral S with individual turns 54 formed about the circumference 56 (eg, circumference) of the glass body 12.

Referring to FIG. 3, for example, it is a schematic diagram of a spiral S in the form of a thread formed on the side wall 25 of the glass body 12. The "helix" has a tangent line at an arbitrary point at an angle with the axis A. In the illustrated embodiment, since the inner diameter (D ₁ ) and outer diameter (D ₂ ) of the glass body 12 are constant in the region of the thread, the thread can be referred to as a circular thread with a _{constant diameter (D 3 ).} have. The diameter D ₃ may be constant or variable, at least partially depending on the shape of the glass body 12. Also, as described herein, other helical and non-helical configurations are possible.

As previously indicated, the glass body 12 has an inner diameter D ₁ passing through the axis A and to the inner surface 36. _{The glass body also has an outer diameter D 2} passing through the axis A and to the outer surface 34. The spiral S includes a number of turns. "Turn" refers to the full 360° range of the intended separation line 50 with respect to axis A. The number of turns, or part of a turn, can be obtained by calculating the number of times the _{helix completes 360° for the glass body 12 from end E 1} to end E _2. In the example of FIG. 3, there are two turns T ₁ and T ₂ . As used herein, “at least one turn” may refer to a single turn (of 360 degrees), a single turn plus some turns, multiple turns and multiple turns plus a portion of a turn. Turns can be subdivided into degrees and parts between 0 and 360 degrees. For example, half of the turn is 180 degrees. Pitch P is the distance between turns measured along a line parallel to axis A. While the intended separation line is illustrated as a line, it should be noted that the intended separation line 50 has a width and a thickness. For example, the width of the intended separation line 50 may be between about 5 μm and about 50 μm and the thickness may be between about 1 μm and 10 μm. The dimensions of the intended separation line 50 may at least partially follow the CT of the central layer 42. For example, the lower the CT, the larger the width and thickness dimensions. The pitch P may be, for example, about 2 mm or less, such as about 0.5 mm or less, such as about 0.1 mm or less.

Referring to Fig. 4, the intended separation line can be formed by irradiating the glass body 12 with a laser 100 operating in a window of transparency of the glass transmission spectrum. In the embodiment of FIG. 4, the glass article 10 may be fixed as a workpiece within a chuck 102, the chuck being rotated using the chuck 102 in the XY plane. It is eventually mounted on an XY motorized positioning apparatus 104 capable of moving the glass article 10. Most of the damage within the glass body 12 can be caused by nonlinear absorption when the intensity or effect of the laser beam 106 exceeds a threshold. Rather than creating damage lines by heating the glass, nonlinear absorption creates damage lines by breaking molecular bonds in the central layer 42; Most of the tempered glass body 12 does not experience excessive heating. The wavelength can be picked up in the transparent region of the glass material so that it can be focused in the middle of the sidewall without attenuation. In one implementation, the laser 100 has a repetition rate of 10-150 kHz, at a fundamental wavelength of 1064 nm (near-IR), or its harmonics (e.g., 532 nm (green), 355 nm ( It is a nanosecond pulsed Nd laser operating in ultraviolet light)). The power of a nanosecond pulsed Nd laser can range from about 1 W to about 4 W.

The formation of the damage line in the glass body 12 strengthened by laser irradiation is schematically shown in FIG. 2. The laser-formed intended separation line 50 is formed by irradiating the glass body 12 with a laser beam 106, generated by laser optics required to focus the laser 100 and laser beam 106. The laser beam 106 is focused on the inner surface 36 to form the intended separation line 50. The intended separation line 50 is _{formed at a depth d 3} from the inner surface 36, where the depth d ₃ is greater than _{the depth d 2} of the inner reinforced surface layer 40. Thus, the intended separation line 50 is located within the center line 42, which is under tensile stress, and is located outside the inner surface layer 40 and the outer surface layer 38 under compressive stress. At least one of the article 10 and the laser beam 106 is rotated and translated to form the intended separation line 50. In one implementation, the glass article 10 is rotated using a chuck 102 with respect to the laser beam 106 and translated using a motorized positioning device 104. This movement can be performed using translationally movable stages, beam scanners, and the like.

Example

A laser inscribed pattern 72 was formed as shown in FIG. 5. The output of the UV (355 nm wavelength), nanosecond pulsed laser was focused within the central layer (CT = 37 MPa) of the ion-exchanged glass article 70 in the form of a cartridge. The cartridge 70 has a diameter of about 12 mm with a wall thickness of about 0.7 mm. The glass article 70 was rotated in the chuck at about 400 rpm and simultaneously translated axially at an acceptable speed for a 0.5 mm pitch. The duration of the laser irradiation was controlled so that three turns were formed in the sidewall of the glass article represented by a laser power in the range of 2.5 W-3 W.

Referring to Figure 6, the crack 74 started mechanically at the bottom of the glass article propagating in the axial direction. It was observed that the crack propagated and then stopped on the first turn it encountered. The crack 74 then propagated along a first turn forming a separation line 76 around the glass body, and the glass article fell along the intended separation line and destroyed within about 2 minutes. 6 illustrates separate sections of the glass body connected by tape 78.

Although a thread with multiple turns has been described above, other shapes could be used for the intended splitting line. Referring to FIG. 7, a glass article 110 includes a number of features described above, such as a glass body 112 having a top 114, a bottom 116, and an enlarged portion 126. ) Is illustrated. In this embodiment, the glass body 112 comprises a pattern 152 formed by the intended dividing line 150 in the form of a helical (S) comprising one turn 154 plus some turns, so the intended dividing line ( The ends 156 and 158 of 150) overlap. A gap 160 exists between the ends 156 and 158. The gap 160 may be about 1 mm or less in axial dimension, such as about 0.75 mm or less, such as about 0.5 mm or less, such as about 0.25 mm or less, such as about 0.1 mm or less. Controlling the axial dimension of the gap 160 (and pitch) can cause the crack to propagate from one end 158 to the other end 156 to completely separate the glass body 112 into a separating portion.

Referring to FIG. 8, another embodiment of a glass article 210 includes a glass body 212 having a top 214, a bottom 216 and an enlarged portion 226. In this embodiment, the glass body 212 has multiple, spaced apart intended dividing lines 250a, 250b in the form of spirals S1, S2, S3 each comprising one turn 254a, 254b, 254c plus some turns. , 250c), the ends 256a and 258a, 256b and 258b, 256c and 258c overlap. Gaps 260a, 260b and 260c are provided between ends 256a and 258a, 256b and 258b, 256c and 258c. In this embodiment, the distances of the gaps 260a, 260b, 260c are all different; However, the distances between the two or more gaps 260a, 260b, and 260c may be the same. Further, the pitch P between adjacent spirals S1, S2, S3 may be any suitable distance, such as about 2 mm or less, such as about 1 mm or less, such as about 0.5 mm or less, such as about 0.25 mm or less. .

9 illustrates another glass article 310 including a glass body 312 having a top 314, a bottom 316 and an enlarged portion 326. In this embodiment, the glass body 312 comprises a pattern 352 formed by the intended dividing line 350 in the form of a closed circle C, opposed to an open end helix, as described above.

Referring to FIG. 10, another embodiment of a glass article 410 includes a glass body 412 having a top 414, a bottom 416 and an enlarged portion 426. In this embodiment, the glass body 412 includes a pattern 452 formed by multiple, spaced apart intended dividing lines 450a, 450b, 450c, in the form of circles C1, C2, C3, respectively. Further, the pitch P between adjacent circles C1, C2, C3 may be any suitable distance, such as about 2 mm or less, such as about 1 mm or less, such as about 0.5 mm or less, such as about 0.25 mm or less.

Referring to Fig. 11, the pattern of the above-described intended separation line is located on the upper half of the enlarged portion of the glass article described above, but the pattern is located on the lower half (i.e., near the bottom of the shoulder) or along the entire axial length of the enlarged portion. Can be located. 11 illustrates, as an example, a glass article 510 including a pattern 552 of a helix S in the form of a screw near the bottom 516 of the glass body 512. Such an arrangement may be desirable for glass articles that are typically placed over the cap, by way of example.

Referring to FIG. 12, another embodiment of a glass article 610 includes a glass body 612 having a top 614, a bottom 616 and an enlarged portion 626. In this embodiment, the glass body 612 includes a pattern 652 in the form of a spiral (S) extending over most of the axial length of the enlarged portion 626. For example, the spiral S may extend over at least 50 percent, at least 60 percent, at least 70 percent, at least 80 percent, or the entire length of the enlarged portion 626.

Referring to FIG. 13, another embodiment of a glass article 710 includes a glass body 712 having a top 714, a bottom 716, and an enlarged portion 726. In this embodiment, the glass body 712 includes a pattern 752 formed by multiple, spaced apart intended dividing lines 750a, 750b forming helices S1, S2 that intersect and form a double helix. do.

Other geometric features may be formed by the intended separation line, which may be used to facilitate separation of the glass article. Referring to FIG. 14, as an embodiment, a helix S is formed (e.g., as a helix) comprising bending ends 856, 858 to reduce the gap 859 between the ends 856, 858. I can. Referring to FIG. 15, in another embodiment, the centers 860a and 860b of the spirals S1 and S2 have bent portions 862a and 862b that reduce the gap 864 between the spirals S1 and S2. Includes.

Using the methods described herein, a tempered glass article can be separated along one or more predetermined intended separation lines in response to the axial propagation of a crack originating somewhere along the glass body. The glass article can be separated along the intended separation line with little chipping along the edge created by the separation of the glass body along the intended separation line. Although the intended separation line of the enlarged portion of the glass body has been described above, the intended separation line may be located in the shoulder and/or neck-down area. A single path of the laser can be used or multiple paths can be used. As in one embodiment, multiple intended separation lines may be provided, and one may be radially spaced apart on the other. In addition, the intended separation line can be used, for example, to deliberately separate a glass article into multiple pieces in response to an applied force. The intended separation line may be formed only after reinforcing the glass article, or the glass tube stock used to form the glass article. While the intended splitting line, round or circular, is described herein, the shape of the intended splitting line may be primarily defined by the shape of the glass body. For example, FIG. 16 illustrates a dividing line 950 intended in the form of a rectangular helix for use with a corresponding rectangular glass body 912. Relatively square shapes formed using the intended dividing lines are shown, but other shapes such as regular shapes, regular curves or twists are possible.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and changes can be made to the embodiments described herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the claimed subject matter. Accordingly, the specification includes modifications and variations of the various embodiments described herein and is intended to fall within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims (21)

A method of forming a tempered glass article, the method comprising:
Providing a tempered glass article, wherein the tempered glass article is in the form of a container comprising an outer surface and a side wall having an inner surface surrounding the inner volume, the side wall being an outer tempered surface layer comprising an outer surface, an inner Having an inner reinforced surface layer comprising a surface, and a center layer between the outer reinforced surface layer and the inner reinforced surface layer under tensile stress; And
Forming a laser-induced intended separation line of the center layer to a predetermined depth between the externally strengthened surface layer and the internally strengthened surface layer by irradiating the sidewall through a laser without separating the glass article; A method of forming a glass article. The method according to claim 1,
The method of forming a reinforced glass article, wherein the intended separation line extends completely about the perimeter of the sidewall. The method according to claim 1,
The method of forming a tempered glass article, wherein the intended separation line forms a helical shape. The method of claim 3,
The method of forming a reinforced glass article, wherein the intended separation line comprises a single turn and forms a spiral shape with an open end overlapping the first and second ends. The method of claim 4,
A method of forming a reinforced glass article, wherein a gap is provided between the first end and the second end, the gap having an axial distance of 1 mm or less. The method of claim 3,
The method of forming a tempered glass article, wherein the intended separation line forms a spiral shape comprising multiple turns. The method according to claim 1,
The method of forming a tempered glass article, wherein the intended separation line forms a closed circle. The method according to claim 1,
A step of forming multiple laser-induced intended separation lines of the center layer at a predetermined depth between the externally strengthened surface layer and the internally strengthened surface layer by irradiating the sidewall through a laser without separating the glass article. A method of forming a glass article. The method according to claim 1,
The method of forming a tempered glass article, wherein the laser is a nanosecond pulsed laser operated with less than 3 W of power. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the core layer has a tensile stress of at least about 13 MPa. The method of claim 10,
The method of forming a reinforced glass article, wherein the thickness of the sidewall at the intended separation line is between 0.6 mm and 1 mm. A reinforced glass article in the form of a container, the glass article comprising:
A glass body having a top and a bottom and sidewalls extending between the top and bottom, wherein the sidewall has an outer surface and an inner surface surrounding the inner volume, the sidewall having an outer reinforced surface layer comprising an outer surface, an inner Having an inner reinforced surface layer comprising a surface, and a center layer between the outer reinforced surface layer and the inner reinforced surface layer under tensile stress; And
And a laser-induced intended separation line of the center layer of a predetermined depth between the outer strengthened surface layer and the inner strengthened surface layer. The method of claim 12,
A reinforced glass article, wherein the intended separation line extends completely about the perimeter of the sidewall. The method of claim 12,
A reinforced glass article, wherein the intended separation line forms a helical shape. The method of claim 14,
The article of reinforced glass, wherein the intended separation line comprises a single turn and forms a helical shape with an open end overlapping the first and second ends. The method of claim 15,
A reinforced glass article, wherein a gap is provided between the first end and the second end, the gap having an axial distance of 1 mm or less. The method of claim 14,
A reinforced glass article, wherein the intended separation line forms a spiral shape comprising multiple turns. The method of claim 17,
A reinforced glass article wherein the pitch between adjacent turns is about 0.5 mm or less. The method of claim 12,
A reinforced glass article, wherein the intended separation line forms a closed circle. The method of claim 12,
Wherein the core layer has a tensile stress of at least about 13 MPa. The method of claim 20,
A reinforced glass article, wherein the thickness of the sidewall at the intended separation line is between 0.6 mm and 1 mm.

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